


Study Stupor

by damerey_knows



Series: Damerey Resistance 2019 [5]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Awkward!Poe, Awkward!Rey, Awkwardness all around, F/M, Fluff, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2020-02-28 09:06:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18753280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/damerey_knows/pseuds/damerey_knows
Summary: For the prompt: “You’re my roommate who’s super cute and it’s the middle of the night and you’re cramming for your exams in your flannel pajamas and disheveled hair and it’s becoming increasingly hard for me not to kiss you” AU.





	Study Stupor

**Author's Note:**

> So I was going through some prompts I'd saved on Tumblr and found this one.... hope you like it <3
> 
>  
> 
> fair warning I finished this about ten minutes ago.... so i will probably edit it in the morning....
> 
> let me know what you think ❤ and good luck to anyone who has finals this month ❤  
> Jumana

Rey scrubbed her hands over her eyes as she walked up the steps to her and Poe’s apartment. It was only ten thirty in the evening but it had been a long day. She’d finally finished her last final, somehow making it through her last undergrad course despite the instructor’s clear bias against her. Snoke was an asshole, everyone said so. Apparently he’d been up for some big award a decade ago and had lost it to Professor Skywalker. The whole experience made him an even more bitter, old, _tenured_ asshole.

Sighing, Rey fumbled with her keys and pushed the apartment door open. “Poe?” she called, dumping her bag onto the back of the couch. She rounded the corner and saw him sitting at the kitchen table, wearing his pajamas, headphones in and reading over his notes. She watched him for a moment. His mouth moved silently as he read through the thick GMAT prep book three inches away from his nose, a highlighter in each hand. Rey smiled fondly to herself, her eyes trailing over his messy hair and the way his nose was smudged with ink.

She’d had a crush on Poe ever since Finn had introduced them two years ago. Finn had dragged her out to a party their sophomore year, insisting that she needed to get out of the house and have fun before their midterms. Poe was a senior at the time, he and Finn had met through a history class and Poe’s roommate was hosting the party.

Finn had “conveniently” disappeared after spotting Rose Tico in the crowd, and Rey and Poe spent the next hour happily making jokes about whether or not Finn would finally ask Rose out. They had ended the night fast friends, and Rey had gone home feeling a lot happier than she had going to the party. Now they were roommates, Rey finishing up her senior year, while Poe was working and applying for grad school.

“Hey,” Rey called when Poe didn’t look up after a minute.

He didn’t respond, only shifting slightly so he could trace a passage with the green highlighter in his right hand.

Rey rolled her eyes and walked up to him. “Poe,” she said, touching his shoulder.

Poe jumped so hard he knocked his empty cup of coffee off the table. “Shit,” he muttered leaning down to pick it up and pulling off his headphones. “Why’d you sneak up on me?” he asked, straightening up.

“I’ve been standing here saying your name for, like, three minutes,” Rey said, shrugging as she turned to the pantry. “It’s not my fault you weren’t on planet earth.”

“Yeah, well,” Poe muttered turning back to his notes, the tips of his ears slightly red. “How’d your test go.”

Rey poured water into a pot to make pasta. “I think it went as well as it could. Snoke’s an ass but I think if he actually fails me because of my uncle I have a solid case against him.”

Poe laughed as he stretched his hands behind his head. “So how does it feel to be a graduate?”

“I’m not a graduate yet,” Rey reminded him, smiling. She dumped the dry pasta into the bubbling water and gave it a stir before covering it.

“You’ve done everything but walk across the stage,” Poe said. “No more finals, no more homework, no more Snoke. I’d call that a graduate.”

“It’s weird.” Rey leaned against the counter next to the stove, staring at Poe’s open book. “I feel kind of adrift, I guess. I’ve got no idea what’s coming next.”

Poe turned to face her head on, his smile understanding. “That’s okay, you’re supposed to feel a little weird. But you are, without a doubt, the smartest person I know. You’ll figure it out.”

Rey felt heat rising up her cheeks at his praise. It wasn’t the first time he’d complimented her, but it still surprised her every time.

He held her gaze for another minute, before turning back to his book and groaning. “Remind me again why I want to take this stupid test?”

“Because you want to get your Master’s and solve all the world’s problems,” Rey deadpanned, grinning when he shot her a look at the use of his own words.

“Yes, Solo, but at what cost?”

Rey laughed. She turned to pull some pasta sauce from the fridge before straining the pasta and fixing two plates. She figured, judging by the bone dry coffee cup, that he could use some food, too.

Rey set his plate in front of him and, without thinking, kissed his cheek. “I’m going to go and eat this in my room with Hiccup and Toothless.” Still smiling she grabbed her bag and walked out of the kitchen and into her room.

She hadn’t even realized what she’d done until she had closed the door to her room.

“Shit,” she hissed under her breath. “Shit, shit, shit.”

She’d given herself away, she knew it. _Why did I do it?_

She knew why. She was hopeless over him. And now she’d just thrown a wrench into their relationship, one she was certain he didn’t welcome.

Running over that moment again in her mind she tried to remember what his reaction had been. Had he been upset? He’d certainly been surprised, but was it a good surprise or a bad surprise? Was he going to say something? Was there anything _to_ say?

She leaned heavily against the door and slid to the ground. “I’m going to have to move,” she muttered to herself. “I’m going to have to go to freaking Timbuktu.” She couldn’t look at him. She didn’t know what she would see, if she could handle the rejection.

Breathing heavily through the panic, Rey stood up and set her bowl of pasta on her desk.

Just as she was tugging her pajamas on she heard a soft knock at the door.

“Rey?” Poe’s voice came through the door. “Rey, can I talk to you?” His voice was so soft, a note of uncertainty in it that Rey wasn’t used to.

Taking a deep breath, Rey walked to the door and opened it. She couldn’t meet his eyes, so she stared at the band logo on his t-shirt, her cheeks still aflame. “Yes?”

Poe didn’t speak for a long time. Long enough that Rey dragged her eyes up to his face for a split second before looking down at the hem of her shirt.

His jaw was working, as if he was trying to figure out what he wanted to say. She could see the stubble on his cheeks, could remember how it felt against her lips. His brow was furrowed and his hair was messier than before, as if he’d been running his hands through it.

“Rey,” he began.

She braced herself for the words.

“Why did you kiss me?”

Rey shrugged one shoulder, trying to seem casual but still not looking up. Her voice seemed to have dried up in her throat.

“Rey, I-” He took a deep breath and began again. “Rey, I wanted to ask- I wanted to know if-”

She chanced another glance up at him, meeting his eyes for the first time.

“I really like you, Rey. Like a lot, and I was wondering - and I know this is probably the worst possible time - but I was hoping that maybe you liked me, too?” His voice was soft again at the end of his sentence.

Rey felt her heart leap into her throat. He wasn’t weirded out by her. He wasn’t rejecting her. He _liked_ her.

Poe’s face became a brighter shade of red as she continued staring at him in silence. “Right, I’m sorry. Forget I said anything.”

“Wait!” Rey yelped, grabbing his hand as he turned back down the hallway. “I just - I didn’t,” she stammered.

“It’s okay,” Poe said, a kind, sad smile tugging on his face. “I know I’m not your first choice.”

Rey huffed out a surprised, disbelieving laugh. “It’s not that. It’s absolutely not that.” Her voice had reappeared, it seemed, and was determined to tell him everything. “I was just surprised. I didn’t think anyone liked me like that. I didn’t think _you_ liked me like that. And- and I’ve liked you for so long now, I just- you’re one of my best friends and I-I didn’t want to ruin anything. And I-”

Poe’s face had broken into a grin, a real one this time. His hand squeezed her fingers gently, letting her tug him back into her room.

They stood there staring at one another for a minute, Rey’s smile mirroring Poe’s.

Then Rey’s stomach let out a loud rumble.

“I should let you get back to your food,” Poe said, making no move to let go of Rey’s hands.

Rey looked down shyly. “Or, if you’re not too busy, you could join me…” she trailed off.

“I can take a break for one evening,” Poe said. “I’ll be right back.” He disappeared down the hall for a split second, before reappearing with his still full pasta bowl.

They sat on Rey’s bed eating while they watched _How to Train Your Dragon 3_ on Rey’s laptop. Rey leaned her head against Poe’s shoulder as the movie played, thinking to herself just how lucky she was.

* * *

Rey awoke the next morning with a heavy weight around her waist and someone pressing a kiss to her cheek.

“G’Morning,” Poe said behind her, his voice husky with sleep.

Rey smiled, scooting back against his chest. She laced her fingers with his against her stomach. “Five more minutes.”  

Poe’s laugh was warm against the base of her neck. “Whatever you want, Sunshine,” he whispered.

**Author's Note:**

> So what did you think?
> 
> Jumana ❤


End file.
